News

Phish Welcomes Kenny Rogers at Bonnaroo, Announces UIC ’94 Box Set

Phish returned to Bonnaroo last night for the first time since 2009 for a performance that closed out the weekend’s musical offerings. Taking the stage shortly after 8 PM under a veil of light rain, the band treated the crowd to a slew of their “greatest hits,” along with a special guest appearance by another one of the festival’s performers. Early on in the first set, guitarist Trey Anastasio told the crowd how each time the band played the festival, they are offered the chance to play with some of their favorite musicians. Anastasio then welcomed Kenny Rogers to the stage for a take on Rogers’ famous rendition of Don Schiltz’s “The Gambler.” The song subsequently reappeared as a tease in the following song, “Possum.”

While the show featured many repeats from the band’s two-night run in Worcester last week, one bust-out did occur in the form of “Shafty,” which had not been played since December 30, 2003 in Miami. Otherwise, the set relied heavily on festival-sized rock anthems, with short segments of improv peppered in between. Highlights occurred during a brief “Tweezer” in the first set and an exploratory “Carini” in the second. The band also nodded to Tennessee with the second set closer, “Rocky Top.”

In other Phish news, the band has announced the release of a new six disc box set featuring the much-loved June 18, 1994 and November 25, 1994 performances at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion. The release will feature remastered audio of both shows by sound guru Fred Kevorkian, along with bonus audio from the soundchecks and artwork by Jim Pollock. The box set comes out on July 31.

Comments

There are 11 comments associated with this post

TCinNYC June 11, 2012, 13:48:48

It was great to watch Phish in the comfort of my living room on the excellent you tube stream. I enjoyed the performance & could care less at the # of repeats, rock anthems, safe choices, & lack of “big jams”. It was a festival & not filled with their target audience & I think they played great. Summer is looking good in our “Phishy” world.

Blooby June 11, 2012, 14:04:24

Well stated, TC.

dave the slave June 11, 2012, 15:43:36

Just another weak effort

bj June 11, 2012, 16:21:30

^^ go cry about phish on pt with all the other losers. we don’t need it here. and i agree tc, great show. the stream was high quality (most of the time) and i thought they played really well. not super long songs but like he said, festy set, phish isn’t the only band who does this. many bands play repeats and hits to try and reach a different audience.

dave the slave June 11, 2012, 16:43:18

They should have stayed retired. They haven’t played a good show in years.

40acres June 11, 2012, 19:26:16

dave the toolbag slave goes on an oblivious foo…

kevin p. June 11, 2012, 20:51:31

It didn’t really matter if it was a good show or not, the cool thing was being able to watch a high quality stream on big screen while having a party with friends, looking out the window at great views of the mountains, and then watching the show again…two seperate realities…and great entertainment on Phish at Bonneroo’s part. Thx Bonneroo! Thx Phish!

smashtrays June 11, 2012, 23:56:35

great to see the boys, and they are playing good looking forwardto the west coast rub this summet, have fun be safe. shanti

katphan June 12, 2012, 01:29:33

It was awesome to be able to stream, for free, the Roo show. But the boys could have played better imo. I felt they held back in the 1st set and were not themselves. But the 2nd set had a great run in the middle of the set that was very well played. Can’t wait for my midwest run here in a couple weeks!

timmy June 12, 2012, 10:52:42

Phish haters can suck it. Phish snobs who think “their” music shouldn’t be shared with anybody in the outside world can all fuck off too. Bonnaroo is a massive music festival that features bands of all musical genres. Phish has become an iconic band, who, like the Grateful Dead, can play to more than “their” audience when the time is right. It doesn’t need to be a set of face melting jams every time. They still do that well on the rest of their tour.

FuNKi fiED! June 15, 2012, 04:14:41

Phish for president! Cant wait for Long Beach! Dont hate appreciate. If you dont like, go listen to your kiss fm or you rush limbaugh or whatever it is that makes you happy. Leave phish to the real fans, who enjoy the animal that is PHISH! 2012!!